Moroccan national airline Royal Air Maroc (RAM) faced uncertainty over its plans for Boeing’s 737 MAX as a senior industry source close to the matter denied that a deal for more jets had been suspended. A source from RAM told Reuters earlier that a deal to take two more of the jets had been “suspended” after 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in the wake of two accidents. RAM had planned to receive the two 737 MAX aircraft in June, the airline source said, adding that two other 737 MAX planes already in its fleet had joined the worldwide grounding. “We are no longer going to receive the two planes as planned,” said the source, who asked not to be identified and did not provide further details. However, a senior industry source close to the matter, also speaking on condition of anonymity, strongly denied the report. Boeing has sold and already delivered two 737 MAX jets directly to RAM, the planemaker’s data shows. It was not immediately clear whether any further jets that the airline may also intend to take were due to be leased. Separately, the source said that RAM is not concerned about its fleet of 737NG planes after inspections that have taken place elsewhere in the world, saying the checks routinely take place on older jets or after a set number of flights. RAM operates 36 of the 737NG planes. Of these, one has required such an inspection and no problems were found.<br/>
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A Southwest flight from Dallas to Los Angeles changed its course for Tucson International Airport in Arizona on Tuesday evening after police were needed for an "onboard issue," an airline spokesperson said. David Broseh, 51, was supposed to travel to Los Angeles. But after assaulting passengers on the plane because he was intoxicated, police said, he ended up in Tucson where he was met by airport police and escorted to Pima County jail, reports The Arizona Republic. "Whenever there could potentially be an issue with a passenger disturbance on an aircraft, our police are always notified and called, and we have an on-staff 24/7 police department at the airport so they were called and they responded," said Jessie Butler, director of communications and external relations at the airport. According to Butler, police responded to a call reporting a passenger that appeared to be intoxicated and assaulting passengers aboard the plane. Story has more.<br/>
Air Astana is targeting international expansion when it receives all seven of its Airbus A321neoLRs, which are expected to take the Kazakhstan-based carrier to a new level, president and CEO Peter Foster said. Air Astana took delivery of its first leased A321neoLR from Air Lease Corp. Sept. 23. The remaining six aircraft—all powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1133G engines—are expected to join the fleet over the next 15 months. The seven aircraft will replace Air Astana’s current fleet of four Boeing 757-200s and will take over many existing long-haul routes and key regional markets, such as Moscow or Dubai. Foster said the A321neoLR—with a range of seven-and-a-half hours—will enable the carrier to target new routes from its Almaty and Nur-Sultan hubs to Shanghai; Singapore; Prague; Mumbai; Madinah, Jeddah or Tokyo. Soon the aircraft will be deployed on routes such as London Heathrow, Frankfurt or Beijing. “The aircraft’s comfort level is better than the competition offers. It is a powerful weapon,” Foster said.<br/>